Tag: Business & Human Rights

Wikimedia appears to be taking strong actions to protect user data from surveillance and censorship.

The U.S. cannot so easily ignore its responsibilities under international law and norms, or turn a blind eye to the activities of its corporations abroad.

Access received a response from the European Commission acknowledging a notification of infringement sent two weeks ago in a letter to Michel Barnier, Commissioner in charge for Enterprise and Industry. The complaint addresses the United Kingdom’s breach of E.U. law through its adoption of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers (DRIP) on 18 July 2014.

On Friday, July 25th, the German Government raised concerns over the current chapter on the controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) included in the trade agreement between the EU and Canada – known as CETA – currently being discussed on both sides of the Atlantic. This announcement is indicative of the growing resistance to ISDS in trade agreements taking place in the European Union at the moment.

Speaking at Vodafone’s annual shareholder meeting in London on Tuesday, July 29, Access Senior Policy Counsel Peter Micek challenged the company to take a greater role in stopping government surveillance.

Update: SMS finally unblocked in Central African Republic

On July 14th, the European Union and the United States kicked off the sixth round of negotiations of what could be the world’s largest trade pact — the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The negotiations, which have been taking place for more than a year, are about opening markets on both sides of the Atlantic for exchange in goods, services, investment, and public procurement.

This past March, people from all over the world gathered in San Francisco for RightsCon. Access’ annual conference brings together activists, corporate leaders, programmers, representatives from various governments, and experts in law and policy working on a range of issues at the intersection of technology and human rights.

A report by the top UN human rights authority condemns government surveillance practices for the “lack of accountability for arbitrary or unlawful interference in the right to privacy.”